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Less than two weeks ago, Craig Leon finished 12th in the Boston Marathon. His body still is
healing.

But in 2016 and ’17, the U.S. Half Marathon Championships will be run on the same course as
Saturday’s Cap City Half Marathon, and Leon decided he didn’t want to pass up the chance to get a
taste of it. That he’s a Van Wert, Ohio, native and Ohio University graduate made it even more
appealing.

“For me, it’s more to kind of check out the course,” Leon said. “I’m just happy to be back
running. I will not take this as a race. I’ll take it as a run. I’ll check out the course and give
people who run the race some feedback.”

Race organizers hope that playing host to the U.S. championship in two years will give another
boost to a race that has grown steadily in participation and reputation. About 14,500 runners and
35,000 spectators are expected. Some of the runners will do a quarter-marathon and others a 5K
run.

“In a few weeks, the Memorial Tournament is coming,” said Leon, now a professional runner who
lives in Eugene, Ore. “Everybody can watch Bubba Watson play a round of golf.

“But in golf, you have to stand on the sidelines. Here, anybody can get in and run on the same
day on the same course under the same conditions as some of the top runners in the U.S. It’s one of
the unique things about our sport.”

Leon doesn’t expect to win on Saturday. His main goal is to emerge healthy after the punishment
he absorbed in Boston, when he finished in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds.

Then again, last year’s winner, Joe Purpura, didn’t expect to cross the finish line first,
either. He’d never won a half marathon, and it was only his second Cap City race. He’d had surgery
only a month earlier.

Purpura figured it would be a low-key return to running and was stunned when he found himself
ahead of the pack with a mile left.

“When you’re that far out and you’re winning, nothing can beat you,” said Purpura, who lives in
Athens but spends the summer in Pataskala. “You’ve got so much momentum that you’re not even tired
anymore. The thought of being able to win is overwhelming. I think at the end of the race I had
more energy than I had at the beginning.”

Leon and Kenya’s Robert Letting are among the world-class runners who will compete. Next year
figures to bring more in anticipation of 2016 and ’17.

Purpura intends to remain an amateur. Even if the influx in top runners means that his chances
of winning are diminished, he’s fine with that. He is happy to see the Cap City Half Marathon’s
prestige continue to grow.

“It’s going to draw bigger names,” Purpura said. “You’re going to want to think that people will
want to test the course. It’s going to bring a great environment to the Columbus running scene and
the running community.”